The Indonesian new car market edges up 1.6% year-on-year in 2017 to 1.079.308 units, its 6th consecutive year above one million annual registrations. The Top 5 brands evolve in very different directions: uncontested market leader Toyota skids 3% to 34.4% share vs. 36% a year ago, still almost double the amount of the #2 which changes hands this year, going to Honda (-1%) at 17.3% eclipsing Daihatsu (-7%) also at 17.3%. Both Mitsubishi (+24%) and Honda (+20%) advance more than 10 times faster than the market to round up the Top 5.

New local producer Wuling breaks into the Indonesian Top 10 with just 5 months of sales.

The big event in the Indonesian Top 10 brands this year is the arrival of Chinese Wuling directly at #10 with over 5.000 units sold since the carmaker’s launch in the country in August. But more significant is the fact that Wuling is actually a local producer, inaugurating its first factory outside of China in Cikarang, West Java on July 11. We covered the event in our Indonesia June 2017 update. For many years, I have been singling out low cost MPV-obsessed Indonesia as a dream market for Wuling and 2017 is the year it’s all happening. After the Confero (aka Hongguang) which became the first Chinese nameplate to break into the Indonesian Top 20 in November, making Indonesia the first country in the world where a Wuling has ranked inside the Top 20, Wuling launched the Cortez, none other than a Baojun 730, in late 2017. 8.000 Wuling have been produced in Indonesia in 2017 with the factory’s annual capacity being 120.000 units. In 2018, Wuling Indonesia will launch the Baojun 310 in a bid to compete with the Honda Brio Satya, Toyota Agya and Daihatsu Ayla. A fascinating prospect.

The futuristic Mitsubishi Xpander hit a stunning 2nd place in December.

It’s a 12th consecutive year in pole position for the Toyota Avanza in the Indonesian models ranking, but the start nameplate sees its market share erode once again to 10.8%. The Toyota Calya soars 55% to end its first full year in market at an outstanding 2nd place, but although it did top the monthly charts three times in 2016, nothing of the kind happened in 2017 with the Avanza staying in control all year long. The Toyota Kijang Innova (+7%) is knocked down to #3 while the Daihatsu Sigra, the Calya’s twin brother, shoots up 41% and 9 spots to a cool 4th place overall. The Honda Brio Satya (+19%) also impresses, gaining 6 ranks to #5 whereas the Honda HR-V (-12%), Daihatsu Xenia (-14%) and twin LCGC (Low Cost Green Cars) Toyota Agya (-36%) and Daihatsu Ayla (-28%) all implode. Along with the Honda CR-V up 103% to #17 thanks to the new generation, the surprise of the year-end is the Mitsubishi Xpander up to an incredible 2nd place in December (5.837 sales vs. 6.823 for the Avanza) and inside the 2017 Top 20 after just three months in market.